The tournament shook out on Sunday evening as the brackets were revealed to a drooling, anticipation-ridden audience of millions. And after all was said and done, one matchup stands out above all the rest: USC vs. Kansas State. Now, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why this 6/11 matchup is gonna be the bomb – it’s O.J. Mayo and Kevin Beasley fool! – but it does take some serious mental dexterity to figure out who you’ll draw before the selection show even goes down.

But that Mayo kid, he’s a sharp one.

I told him [Kansas State’s Bill Walker], ‘I think we’re going to draw you guys,”‘ Mayo said Sunday at Galen Center, where the Trojans watched as the pairings were announced. “Omaha seemed like a good place to play. At the same time, it’s all about the money.”

Mayo was referring to the fact that he and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley are two of the most talented freshmen in the country, making for an attractive matchup.

Beasley is the third-leading scorer in the country, averaging 26.5 points. Mayo isn’t far behind at 20.8 points. Both figure to be early first-round picks whenever they decide to declare for the NBA draft.

“It’s still Kansas State vs. USC–two good teams, two teams that play hard,” Mayo said. “We’ll get a crowd there, it should be exciting.”

The 20-year-old Mayo said he has known Walker since the age of 3, calling him “my best friend in the world.”

Mayo said the two spoke again after learning they would face each other.

“He was like, `What made you pick that?”‘ Mayo said with a smile.

Mayo made his prediction to several teammates as well.

“That’s what `O’ kept saying. It was a great call by him,” Davon Jefferson said.

Pretty good prediction by a kid who is playing in his first and probably last NCAA Tournament. Same goes for Beasley – uh, everything except the prediction part.